Winter 2016
News
Xenophobia: America’s Rise & Shine
Growing Epidemic
PAGE 3
Jack Murphy
Co-Editor-in-Chief
As ISIS rises in the Middle
East and Western nations,
fear of refugees and
Muslims rise with it, which
is in fact one of the core
goals of ISIS: to create
Islamophobia based off
of the attacks the terrorists carry out. As a result
of the San Bernardino
shooting and Paris attacks, more Americans
are turning against the
acceptance of Syrian refugees and Muslims, when
in fact 45 Jihadist extremist attacks have occurred
on U.S. soil since 9/11 in
comparison to 48 far right
extremist attacks.
Religious persecution
is no stranger to the U.S.
history books. After the
revolutionary war, violent
tensions rose between
Baptists and Presbyterians. Additionally, during
the 19th century, the rise
of Protestantism in the
U.S. and the immigration
of Irish Catholics caused
another set of violent
outcries. Now, in 2016,
the discrimination against
Muslims is another chapter.
Growing up in the post9/11 world, I remember
images that demonstrate
hatred towards Islamic and Middle Eastern
people purely based
off the color of their skin
or the Hijab that covers an Islamic woman’s
head. Children who
were brainwashed by
such ideas took it to the
school grounds, taunting
children of Islamic faith. I
witnessed these children
enroll in the homeschool
program I was attending
because of the discrimination they faced while
receiving a public school
education.
“The face
of terror is
not the true
face of Islam. That’s
not what
Islam is all
about. Islam
is peace.”
It was difficult for me to
comprehend why Islamic
and Middle Eastern people were being harrassed
until my parents gave me
an explanation: terrorism.
Because the terrorists who
had crashed planes into
the World Trade center
were Middle Eastern and
worshiped radicalized
Islam, there are people
who associate all Muslims with the motives of
the terrorists. The biggest
misconception about
this hatred is that Islam is
a religion that promotes
the idea of peace, just
like Catholicism, Judaism,
and Christianity.
Former president
George W. Bush said so
himself six days after 9/11:
“The face of terror is not
the true face of Islam.
That’s not what Islam is all
about. Islam is peace.”
Just like some Christians
who have radicalized
ideas of Christianity, the
members of ISIS have
radical views of Islam and
use religion as a manipulative tool to recruit new
members. In the same
way, Al-Qaeda recruited remembers to carry
out the September 11th
attacks.
Contrary to Bush, other
Republicans--including
presidential frontrunner
Donald Trump--want
to reject foreign- and
American-born Muslims.
Trump has proposed, if
elected, to ban Muslims
from entering the country. Additionally, he wants
all Muslims to wear a form
of identification to reveal
their faith. These ideas
have drawn comparison
to the regime of Adolf
Hitler, who isolated Jews
in Germany and required
all Jews to wear the Star
of David around their
arm. They have also been
compared to the US
internment of Japanese
Americans during WWII.
By giving into the fear
of Muslims and supporting
candidates like Donald
Trump, Americans are
giving in to the mission of
ISIS: to spread fear and
terror across the globe.
Sara Silberman
Staff Writer
Friday 6 a.m. doesn’t
typically sound like a
good time for a party.
However, for OCSA seniors, celebrating on 10th
Street as the sun begins
to rise has become an
important pre-graduation
rite of passage.
Senior Sunrise is a school
tradition that brings
each graduating class
together for a morning
of good food, music,
and friends. I remember
thinking each year when
this event rolled around
that the seniors looked
ridiculous as they danced
and sung on 10th Street
hours before the bell was
supposed to ring, so it
was strange to finally find
myself in their place.
On Dec. 18, my class-the Class of 2016--held
our own Senior Sunrise.
At least 100 seniors were
present on 10th street
and the steps of Symphony Hall, representing
each social circle and
conservatory. (It wasn’t
like most events of this
sort, where the crowd is
limited to the small number of seniors in Leadership.)
Upon arrival I met up
with some of my friends
and helped myself to
a donut. Breakfast was
potluck style, with both
hot and cold options
available. I didn’t bring
anything to share, which I
felt a little bad about, but
I figured my contribution
wouldn’t make or break
the event.
We all spent the major-
ity of the time dancing
to early 2000s hits such as
the Cheetah Girls’ “Strut”
and Hannah Montana’s
“We Got the Party.”
These throwbacks were
welcome as they took
me back to a time before
having to face my impending adulthood.
Besides the nice variety
of food and music, the
diverse group of seniors
in attendance was
impressive. It was great
to share this experience
with a more representative group of the Class of
2016. We all danced and
sang and ate until the
sun rose high above the
probation office (I swear
it was more beautiful than
it sounds). Ther